Eight — Micro Chapter 14

A date thingy? Ah! Calendar

Eight

Part 1. Micro Chp. 14

Before I left, I returned to the kitchen and placed the sheet my mum had been ironing over her body. This time, I let the tears come; she was my mother after all. As I passed the fir tree I didn’t look up, I knew I lacked the strength to do anything about my dad, so I kept my eyes fixed on the pot-holed track. The shivers rippled through me again as I paused at the fork in the lane.

“What about the farm, shouldn’t I check there first,” I mumbled, shuffling my feet undecided. No, Tom would never have gone there, he hated the cows.

With reluctance, I continued down the track until I reached the junction for the lane. Stopping, I looked behind me one last time. A dull pain wrapped around my chest, so I turned left and headed back towards the crossroads.

I gazed at the sky, noticing a yellow glow shadowing the stars. Where had that come from? I couldn’t remember seeing it on my way home. What could it mean? Having no clue, I peered at the houses and shuddered, they looked like hulking brick monsters with huge, black eyes watching my every step as I passed. Now, I really hoped the power would soon return.

I looked back, just as a rat scuttled across the lane where the torch barely reached. Its eyes were glowing pinpricks in the light and I almost dropped the torch again. I wasn’t alone. Not that it brought much comfort.

But could I truly be alone, what if I couldn’t find Tom? What if Sully and his family had disappeared… or died. I picked up my pace, my feet moving faster as they scuffed the frosty lane.